DIY Disney Denim Jacket with Homemade Patches

My favorite time to visit Orlando is in the winter. I prefer cold-weather clothing in every city, so even though Florida means beaches I’d still rather where boots and tights. To stay warm during the chilly Disney nights, I decided long before our trip that I wanted to transform the vintage denim jacket hanging in our closet into my dream Mickey-themed patch haven. All I needed were embellishments.

Turns out, those are hard to find and also weirdly expensive.

When I found out my local fabric store did not stock any (ANY!) Disney-themed patches, I decided I had to learn how to make my own. My ever-patient husband helped me find and sort Disney-themed fabrics until we had a nice sampling of characters, prints, and colors. After a few tries, I finally figured out how to turn those prints into any size patch I wanted for merely a few bucks — and, while I was sorting that out, I found a few discounted embroidered options to add in the mix. The end result? One extremely dorky but lovable Disney jacket featuring large DIY patches and a whole lot of pixie dust.

DIY PATCH MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

This project is incredibly simple. Iron fusible web on the pack of your printed fabric following the directions on the box…

…and then trace your desired shape using a pen. I created some Mickey head designs and a few smaller character icons like the Minnie heads and Marvel circles.

Cut out your shape, remove the second backing, and iron it in place following directions on the box.

Since the edges are not embroidered like a traditional patch you’ll want to also stitch the sides down securely.

And that’s it! Simple, right? I love how inexpensive these giant Mickey heads turned out to be, and the fun pattern pops they added to my denim jacket. This piece got a lot of attention while we were in Florida, but it was mainly from people who were freezing without any kind of outerwear. The compliment still counts, right?

FOLLOW ME

I’m Julia Ann, a full-time writer, DIY-er, and all-around cat fanatic from St. Louis. I’ve been sharing my best outfits and worst jokes on this blog since 2012. Follow along as my husband and I work to perfect our first home and navigate our infertility diagnosis through IVF.